Transnational Migration and the Politics of Identity

This volume, the first in the series entitled Women and Migration in Asia, focuses on Asian women`s experience of immigration and the impact this has on their identity in the context of transnational migration. It highlights the gendered dimension of migration, the differential experience of men and women, and the consequences of this for women. It also examines the complexities that women encounter in the process of migration, emphasizing both the constraints that women experience, and the strategies they deploy in making life in the new country more bearable. The volume draws attention to…mehr

This volume, the first in the series entitled Women and Migration in Asia, focuses on Asian women`s experience of immigration and the impact this has on their identity in the context of transnational migration. It highlights the gendered dimension of migration, the differential experience of men and women, and the consequences of this for women. It also examines the complexities that women encounter in the process of migration, emphasizing both the constraints that women experience, and the strategies they deploy in making life in the new country more bearable. The volume draws attention to the fluid nature of a migrant woman`s identity while also pointing out that this fluidity and her identity are regulated to a certain extent by the state and various social institutions. Moreover, it examines the manner in which she negotiates with these larger institutions and structures-such as the state, employers, the community and welfare institutions-and how these engagements help in defining and restructuring her identity in different ways.

Introduction - Meenakshi ThapanMakingIncompleteIdentity, Woman and the StateFrom India to an Indian Diaspora to a Mauritian Diaspora - Kathinka Sinha-KerkhoffBack-linking as a Means for Women to Feel Good LocallyWomen in Between - Nilufar AhmedThe Case of Bangladeshi Women Living in LondonBeing American, Learning to be Indian - Aparna RayaprolGender and Generation in the Context of Transnational MigrationSingular Predicaments - Santi RozarioUnmarried Female Migrants and the Changing Bangladeshi FamilyBreaking the Silence - Parin DossaIdentity Politics and Social SufferingWomen, Home and Belonging in UK Immigration Policy - Irene GedalofGender, Race and Racism - Christine DelphyThe Ban of the Islamic Headscarf in FranceCultured Girls - Sunera ThobaniRace, Multiculturalism and the Canadian StateBetwixt the State and Everyday Life - Maitrayee ChaudhuriIdentity Formation Among Bengali Migrants in a Delhi SlumIndex